Sugar water can help increase self-control, says study

If you're
struggling with self-control, a quick gargle of lemonade — made with real sugar
— might boost your resolve, new research suggests.

Researchers
from the University of Georgia recently published their findings in the journal
Psychological Science.

Fifty-one
students took part in the study, each perform forming two self-control-testing
tasks.

"The
first task, which previous research has shown to deplete self-control, was
tediously crossing out all the Es on a page from a statistics book. Then,
participants performed what is known as the Stroop task where they were asked
to identify the colour of various words flashed on a screen, which spell out
the names of other colours," Forbes explains.

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Before
performing the Stroop test, half of the students rinsed their mouths with
sugar-sweetened lemonade. The other half swished Splenda-sweetened lemonade.
The researchers found that the students who rinsed with the sugary drink were
faster at responding to the Stroop test than those who rinsed with the
artificial sweetener.

"Researchers
used to think you had to drink the glucose and get it into your body to give
you the energy to (have) self control," says UGA psychology professor
Leonard Martin, co-author of the study. "After this trial, it seems that
glucose stimulates the simple carbohydrate sensors on the tongue. This, in
turn, signals the motivational centres of the brain where our self-related
goals are represented. These signals tell your body to pay attention."

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Martin adds
that glucose doesn't just boost energy levels, it boosts personal investment in
current tasks.

"The
glucose seems to be good at getting you to stop an automatic response such as
reading the words in the Stroop task and to substitute the second harder one in
its place such as saying the color the word is printed in," he says.
"It can enhance emotive investment and self-relevant goals."

The study
was small and will need further research, though Martin speculates that sugar
water might help those trying to drop pounds or quit smoking.

In the
meantime, curious individuals can always test the theory by gargling sugar
water the next time they have to (begrudgingly) stay behind at work to get
tedious work done.